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Texas Rangers minor league relief pitcher Sam Wolff will be out until the second half of the 2018 season due to a flexor tendon injury, per Jeff Wilson on Twitter. Wilson says that Wolff would have gotten a call up late in the season this year but for the injury.
That’s disappointing news for Wolff, a 2013 6th round pick out of the University of New Mexico who throws hard but has struggled to stay healthy. Wolff missed all of the 2015 regular season due to a torn Achilles tendon, and had an up-and-down 2016 season at Frisco.
He took a step forward in 2017, however, putting up a 2.93 ERA in 43 IP between Frisco and Round Rock, with 59 Ks against 14 unintentional walks. Wolff is Rule 5 eligible this offseason, and the Rangers will have to decide whether to put him on the 40 man roster, or risk losing him to a team that could stash him on the d.l. for much of 2018.